Server Optimization

Aea · October 2003

Please don't give me "That sucks, use that," or "That's not enough bandwidth you n00b," I just don't need somebody telling me my server sucks. Now, I want to optimize my server, I'll give you some specs below...

3.1.1.0 Hlds Unsecure
800 Mhz Duron Cpu
512 MB of ram
256 Kbs upload (stable)
When I get more then 8 people on my server my ping goes from 30 to over 100, obviously caused by cpu/ram issues. I have the 2.4 kernal and I'm running KDE, any hints?

Pebbles-TPF · October 2003

Stop running KDE.

If you can get away with not using the X11 interface, your RAM/CPU load will be dramatically decreased.

<i>Pebbs</i>

billcat · October 2003

I've got to agree here, I use KDE myself on my desktop client and it's great for that. What it's not great for is making servers run faster.

I'd do ps -ef and look at the process list and see what processes you can do without. If it's a standard bloathat install you can remove 50-90% of that crap and run a HLDS server fine.

Also, if you want some better feedback you should also post the cmd line you use to start hlds, the contents of your server.cfg and autoexec.cfg. Withhold any passwords or stuff like that but it'd be nice to know what junk you have running with HLDS. I was running pingboost -2 for a while and that hit the CPU pretty hard. I removed that line at someone elses suggestion and the server was able to handle a few more users.

Aea · October 2003

Here's my launch command ./hlds_run -game ns +ip
12.254.40.75 +maxplayers 12 +map ns_eclipse

I'm running Metamod, with amx, unstuck pro, and lerklift. I striped down the amx to it's bare necessities <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'>

My cpu use is pretty high, any way to shut down KDE while running it?

billcat · October 2003

uh.. if you're in the kde desktop there should be a logout thingy down at the bottom. If you asking me if you can close KDE and still have the server you started in a KDE window working, I don't think that's possible. I'd shut down the server, log out of KDE and then from the console start HLDS.

Aea · October 2003

Closest thing I can get is "failsafe" which is still GUI like with a console, anyhow, which are safe to nuke?

root 1 0 2 00:13 ? 00:00:04 init
root 2 1 0 00:13 ? 00:00:00 [keventd]
root 3 1 0 00:13 ? 00:00:00 [kapmd]
root 4 1 0 00:13 ? 00:00:00 [ksoftirqd_CPU0]
root 9 1 0 00:13 ? 00:00:00 [bdflush]
root 5 1 0 00:13 ? 00:00:00 [kswapd]
root 6 1 0 00:13 ? 00:00:00 [kscand/DMA]
root 7 1 0 00:13 ? 00:00:00 [kscand/Normal]
root 8 1 0 00:13 ? 00:00:00 [kscand/HighMem]
root 10 1 0 00:13 ? 00:00:00 [kupdated]
root 11 1 0 00:13 ? 00:00:00 [mdrecoveryd]
root 15 1 0 00:13 ? 00:00:00 [kjournald]
root 73 1 0 00:13 ? 00:00:00 [khubd]
root 2278 1 0 00:13 ? 00:00:00 [kjournald]
root 2641 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/dhclient -1 -q -lf /var/li
root 2684 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 syslogd -m 0
root 2688 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 klogd -x
rpc 2706 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 portmap
rpcuser 2725 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 rpc.statd
root 2792 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 /usr/sbin/apmd -p 10 -w 5 -W -P
root 2829 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 /usr/sbin/sshd
root 2843 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 xinetd -stayalive -reuse -pidfil
root 2863 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 sendmail: accepting connections
smmsp 2872 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 sendmail: Queue runner@01:00:00
root 2882 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 gpm -t ps/2 -m /dev/mouse
root 2891 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 crond
root 2902 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 cupsd
xfs 2959 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 xfs -droppriv -daemon
root 2968 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 anacron -s
daemon 2977 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 /usr/sbin/atd
root 2985 1 0 00:14 tty1 00:00:00 /sbin/mingetty tty1
root 2986 1 0 00:14 tty2 00:00:00 /sbin/mingetty tty2
root 2987 1 0 00:14 tty3 00:00:00 /sbin/mingetty tty3
root 2988 1 0 00:14 tty4 00:00:00 /sbin/mingetty tty4
root 2989 1 0 00:14 tty5 00:00:00 /sbin/mingetty tty5
root 2990 1 0 00:14 tty6 00:00:00 /sbin/mingetty tty6
root 2991 1 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 /usr/bin/gdm-binary -nodaemon
root 3034 2991 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 /usr/bin/gdm-binary -nodaemon
root 3035 3034 3 00:14 ? 00:00:02 /usr/X11R6/bin/X <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wow.gif'> -auth /var/g
root 3044 3034 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 /bin/sh /usr/bin/startkde
root 3101 3044 0 00:14 ? 00:00:00 /usr/bin/ssh-agent /usr/share/ap
root 3142 1 0 00:15 ? 00:00:00 kdeinit: Running...
root 3145 1 0 00:15 ? 00:00:00 kdeinit: dcopserver --nosid
root 3148 1 0 00:15 ? 00:00:00 kdeinit: klauncher
root 3150 1 2 00:15 ? 00:00:01 kdeinit: kded
root 3211 3142 3 00:15 ? 00:00:01 /usr/bin/artsd -F 10 -S 4096 -s
root 3220 1 1 00:15 ? 00:00:00 kdeinit: knotify
root 3221 3044 0 00:15 ? 00:00:00 kwrapper ksmserver
root 3223 1 1 00:15 ? 00:00:00 kdeinit: ksmserver
root 3224 3142 2 00:15 ? 00:00:01 kdeinit: kwin
root 3227 1 4 00:15 ? 00:00:01 kdeinit: kdesktop
root 3236 1 5 00:15 ? 00:00:01 kdeinit: kicker
root 3237 3142 0 00:15 ? 00:00:00 kdeinit: kio_file file /tmp/ksoc
root 3241 1 2 00:15 ? 00:00:00 kdeinit: kwrited
root 3242 3142 0 00:15 ? 00:00:00 pam-panel-icon
root 3243 3142 3 00:15 ? 00:00:01 /usr/bin/python /usr/bin/rhn-app
root 3244 3142 1 00:15 ? 00:00:00 eggcups
root 3247 1 2 00:15 ? 00:00:00 kalarmd --login
root 3249 3242 0 00:15 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/pam_timestamp_check -d roo
root 3251 1 0 00:15 ? 00:00:00 /usr/libexec/gconfd-2 12
root 3252 3142 29 00:15 ? 00:00:05 /usr/lib/mozilla-1.2.1/mozilla-b
root 3265 3142 8 00:15 ? 00:00:01 kdeinit: konsole
root 3267 3265 1 00:15 pts/1 00:00:00 /bin/bash
root 3312 3267 0 00:16 pts/1 00:00:00 ps -ef

billcat · October 2003

notice all that kde crap in your ps output? yep, you are still running KDE. You need to use the logout feature to get all the way out of KDE. Try CTL-ALT-BACKSPACE to hard kill xwindows. The key here is NO GUI!! Use a standard console login and no GUI at all. Yes, we're no longer in MS land.

I'd also shut down sendmail unless you're really doing mail on that desktop.

Aea · October 2003

Um, KDE will just start over again if I shut it down, and when I try to hardkill GUI it turns off my pc :o

Pebbles-TPF · October 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Aea @ Oct 24 2003, 07:49 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Um, KDE will just start over again if I shut it down, and when I try to hardkill GUI it turns off my pc :o  </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> 
How crucial is the information on the computer at the moment?

I take it that when you installed it, you checked the "Start in GUI Mode" which is a pain.

The "easiest" way is to re-install the machine. Otherwise there are some config files somewhere that control whether KDE starts up or you are left in console mode.

I can't remember off hand where they are, so it may be easier for you to tar and gzip your HLDS files, transfer them to your other computer, and then re-install Linux, then transfer them back.

<i>Pebbs</i>

billcat · October 2003

While you're at it, try another distro of linux that isn't quite so bloated. Suggestions here are slackware, debian, suse.

Aea · October 2003

Reinstall isn't an option now, I have a match in 2 hours and 30 minutes, and if anybody knows the location, please tell me <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'>

<b>w00t! Didn't need any more optimization, most people pinged under 200 anyway <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'></b>

Orgazmo · October 2003

Ok depending on your distro you can disable booting into X-windows

If you are in X and want to disable it simpely press CTRL + ALT + F1 and log in as root. then use a
</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>CODE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='CODE'> kill <pid> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> where <pid> is the pid of your X server

root 3035 3034 3 00:14 ? 00:00:02 /usr/X11R6/bin/X -auth /var/g

in this case 3035, BEWARE this numberg changes everytime X is restarted
if you really want to hard kill the X server use a </span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>CODE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='CODE'>kill -9 <pid></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>

If you tell me what distro you are using i can tell you how to remove all the other crap including sendmail, cups and rpc services

biomass · October 2003

If you don't care about X at all you can change the following to boot into console mode instead of the graphical interface. What you need to do is edit a file called /etc/inittab as root. You should find a line there that says
</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>CODE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='CODE'>id:5:initdefault:</td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
If you change the 5 to a 3 you will make the computer boot into console mode (runlevel 3), you will also see the different numbers you can use described in the inittab file. Hardly anything but 5 and 3 and 1 are used.

It is also possible to manually trigger this while logged in as root byt typing 'init 3' in a console window if you are in the graphical interface mode.

It seems that you are running redhat, is that so ?

If so you can use the chkconfig command to list which services are run at each runlevel and enable/disable them from there.
A printout of 'chkconfig --list' would be more helpful than a ps output actually.

and don't listen to people telling you to reinstall, it should not be necessary. =)

Aea · October 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Orgazmo @ Oct 25 2003, 05:46 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Ok depending on your distro you can disable booting into X-windows

If you are in X and want to disable it simpely press CTRL + ALT + F1 and log in as root. then use a
</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>CODE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='CODE'> kill <pid> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> where <pid> is the pid of your X server

root 3035 3034 3 00:14 ? 00:00:02 /usr/X11R6/bin/X -auth /var/g

in this case 3035, BEWARE this numberg changes everytime X is restarted
if you really want to hard kill the X server use a </span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>CODE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='CODE'>kill -9 <pid></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>

If you tell me what distro you are using i can tell you how to remove all the other crap including sendmail, cups and rpc services  </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> 
Thanks, I got into console killed the unnecessary services, and it faster <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'>

OldSam · October 2003

Hi,

I think the best way for you is just simply start your linux-system with "init 3" as a kernel-parameter this will start in console mode with network but without gui. So in your lilo or grub there is normally a menu entry like "linux" or something, this word "linux" is written at a boot-command-line below the menu.. Just write init 3 behind this, so you got "linux init 3".
Of course the other way is to disable xdm, kdm so X won't automatically restart if you kill it <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'>

Greetz
OldSam

cracker_jackmac · November 2003

Jsut edit the /etc/inittab file

there is a line called default run level...its set at 5 right now, set it to 3 (could be set to 4, they keep changing it)

Server Optimization

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